Monday, November 2, 2015

Character needs a hobbby & GIVEAWAY!

My wife and I moved to Holmes County, Ohio from Dallas to be
closer to our daughter Angie, who moved here a couple of years before us to
take over her Amish aunt’s quilt shop, Running Stitch. I took early retirement
to make the move. I’m thrilled to see my AngieBear so often now that we live so
close. However, I must admit I’m at loose ends. I have worked for over thirty
year as an executive in a high-powered office, and now… nothing. I have
absolutely nothing to do except Sudoku. There is only so much Sudoku a man can
do without losing his mind.

Of course, my wife Daphne has had no trouble filling her
time. She had made friends at the local beauty parlor and is already
volunteering all over the county to better the community. In fact, this fall
she is helping Angie with a library book sale. To be honest, I don’t think
AngieBear is all that happy about being roped into helping with the book sale,
so she is thrilled to turn the whole thing over to her mother. Or she would
have been thrilled, if she hadn’t found dead Amish man on library’s bookmobile.
Knowing my daughter she will investigate the Amish man’s death with James
Mitchell, her sheriff boyfriend, shaking his head the entire time. My wife
might stick her nose in it too.

But not me. I want something to occupy my time, but I don’t
really want to be chasing killers. Honestly, I don’t want my daughter to be
doing that either, but there is no point in arguing with Angie when she feels
what she is doing is right. She gets that stubbornness from her mother. Don’t
tell her I said that.

So if I’m not going to solve crimes, what am I going to do?
I’m open to hobby suggestions. Leave a suggestion of a hobby that I should try and
your email address in the comments below for a chance to win a signed copy of Murder, Served Simply (Amish Quilt Shop #3).

Giveaway ends Friday, November 6th at 4pm. Winner
will be notified by email.

Oh, and you if have read any of the books in the Amish Quilt Shop Series please consider posting a review on Amazon, B&N, or another retailer site. Those really help to keep a series going!

Well, since you mentioned a library, you could catch up on all those books you never had time for and write reviews to share with the world. Become a Blogger/Reviewer. You'd then have a reason to do some travelling to the various read/author conventions like Bouchercon and Malice.

Oh no, a body in a bookmobile?? That is just wrong. All my hobbies end up to be reading, but I think you may need something more active and hands on. I'll go with the volunteering option. And you're right, stay away from the murder investigation, probably going to be dangerous!sallycootie@gmail.com

Working with a jigsaw, lots of patterns out there and you can even make some money off the end product. It would of course involve a work area that would hold the saw, and an area to paint the finished product. lizstraw at sbcglobal dot net

Hobbies can be so personal. I've knitted and made quilts galore, baked up bagels and scones for every occasion, grew herbs and created flavored oils for everyone's delight, golfed, tennised, traveled the world, and in retirement, I love to read! Hobbies can be so personal, but the one universal constant is the enjoyment they bring. kat8762@aol.com

Hi, Kent. Remember, there's nothing wrong with a man knitting. Both of my grandfathers were knitters. If you like working with wood, why don't you build quilt tables and Amish style yarn swifts? My husband just built me a swift, and it's wonderful!Happy Hobbying,Barb

I think a great hobby would be bird watching or fishing. Volunteering would be great too, maybe the local food bank or hospital. How about being a driver for the local community? There are so many ways to fill the days.marypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) comMerry

Perhaps Angie's dad could take up being a silent bodyguard, with martial arts classes on the side. Or become a quilter so he can kind of keep an eye on his daughter with the hope of not letting her get into the thick of trouble to begin with. *sigh* or maybe photography, just himself and his camera, alone with nature. jeaniedannheim (at) ymail (dot) com

Hey Kent! Why not build WWII models of tanks and vehicles like my husband does. It is labor intensive but, if you take your time and pay particular attention to detail, you'll have duplicated miniatures of some of histories finest machines.I love your series Isabella, I've read them all except for your current release. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!sxygrndma48{at}yahoo{dot}com

Considering Kent's high-powered past, why not run for mayor of Holmes County, Ohio, since the pay is probably slim; and his ideas could benefit the community. He could be like Martha Tinsdale, the mayor in The Good Witch series.

I'll echo what another poster said...try geocaching. It will bring you into some beautiful outdoor places you'd never otherwise see. It's great exercise and a lot of fun too. Of course, since Angie is your daughter I can just imagine you discovering a body in the woods. :) I love this series and just finished Murder, Plainly Read this morning. Planning on posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Thanks for the fun chance to win. rencw@verizon.net

I think one of the best hobbies I've found is oil painting. Everyone sees beauty through a different angle and no matter what you do it will be an original. Age doesn't matter, look at Grandma Moses. You can also paint and sip a fine glass of wine too.

How about wine making or beer making? You could try wine with local fruit instead of traditional grapes. Since it needs to be monitored, and taste tested, you wouldn't have time to help with murder investigations. Cheers@MarjimManor.com

I like the suggestions on here, and would say reading would be one I also recommend. Also, horseback riding, since you live in a country setting, could be a good choice. Thanks for the contest. monstercreed1@yahoo.com

How about teaching kids and/or adults to read. That would be a worthwhile thing to do to keep you busy. It's not a hobby but a great volunteer position. As a hobby, you could make those crazy wooden lawn cutouts that people put in yards. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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